jenismithies wrote:Bush Fairy, I fully agree with you. People need to realise that we are in territory assigned to the animals and are fully responsible for our behaviour and safety. I started this thread to share my exciting thrill - not to make it sound as though Paul is nutty and should be shot. He is magnificent and has given me a memory that will last forever. Yes, he was grumpy - I get like that too!

He is certainly a beautiful specimen, a joy to watch (at a distance ) - despite the fact that I am terrified of elephants!!

Study nature, Love nature, Stay close to nature. It will never fail you!

Well, we have had two good stints of rain - one at the end of April and one yesterday - but we need much more to really make an impact. of course, it will also take some time for the rainfall to ahve an effect on vegetation quality and quantity.

I read last night in a book authored by P.H. Capstick that P.J. Pretorius was the man who took up the job of thinning out the Kali or rogue elephants in the Addo district years ago. A job that was reckoned by many a great hunter, including famous Frederick Selous (who got the Selous Game Reserve named after him) to be impossible to achieve.

I did a simple Google search and here is a nice summary of P.J. Pretorius' life:

Major P. J. Pretorius, a descendant of the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, after whom South Africa’s administrative capital was named, was born in the Transvaal in 1876. At the age of 16 his father sent him to be a transport rider in the British South Africa Company. After taking part in the Matabele Wars, he worked on a mine to save money for his own-pioneering expeditions. He left Rhodesia in 1899 and crossed the Zambesi. For the next three years he wandered together with his African servants in the unexplored and game-filled territory known at that time as Zambesia. He writes “I was so lost to the ‘civilized’ world that I never heard of the Boer War until it was all over!”

Pretorius collected ivory and caught wild animals alive for zoos. At one time he traveled in central Africa and hunted with the pygmies.

His life was one of hardships, demanding resilience and independence. A brutal slave trade was still in existence and the tribesmen were suspicious of all intruders. Once Pretorius was almost killed when falsely accused of murdering a chief. The actual culprit was later sentenced to be roasted alive. After a trip to Europe, Pretorius returned to what was then Tanganyika and tried to farm in the Rufiji Delta.

His intimate knowledge of the area and his skills as a tracker were put to good use in World War I when he helped the Royal Navy find and destroy the German battle cruiser Konigsberg. Later he was one of General Smuts’s Scouts during the East African Campaign. He attained the rank of Major at this time and was awarded the C.M.G. and D.S.O.

Even in his mature years Pretorius could not bear to remain settled on his property at Nylstroom, Transvaal. He accepted an invitation to thin out the elephant in the Addo Bush near Port Elizabeth – a task which had been declared impossible by the accomplished elephant hunter, F.C.Selous. Later he made films of wild life.

Pretorius died in November 1945. Two years after his death, Jungle Man, a book compiled from his own notes, was published.

“Living dangerously is twice blessed,” he wrote. “It blesses the moment with elation; it blesses the after-day with warm memories. If a man has trodden unknown trails and landed on lost beaches, when age comes the domestic hearth is a camp-fire where old dramas are relived.”

For starters, both Peter Capstick and I would love to know what the hell P.J. stood for! And then secondly if there is anything that describes P.J.'s adventures during the Addo operation, I would love to read about it here.

This much I know - only a handful came from Kruger to broaden the gene pool.Addo elephants are different and from interbreeding over many years there are distinct signs, like the lack of tusks and generally much smaller tusks. All the ellies with reasonable tusks are Kruger imports. They are also on average smaller that their Kruger family.

Rangers recently found the skeleton and tusks of an elephant bull and after a bit of investigation and checking with the elephant researchers, realised it was the remains of Gaatjies.

Gaatjies was the oldest elephant bull in the park (born 1954) and one of the biggest Addo tuskers. He was the most dominant bull in the Park for over 20 years and would therefore be the father of many of the younger elephants in the Park today.

Well at least he was able to have a full and 'natural' life...wasn't it great that such a big creature could live so long. Hopefully many of his youngsters will be able to enjoy such a long life as well.

Canadian prairies...but prepping for some SA trips....KTF Hooked on KTP- 2008KTF Hooked's Most Anticipated Adventure- 2010/11

He for sure was a beautiful animal, it is proof that there are Tuskers in Addo.

All part of the renewal process.

Now many can be on the lookout for emerging tuskers in Addo, carrying his genes.

I participate because I care - CUSTOS NATURAENo to Hotels in and commercialization of our National Parks.No to Legalized Rhino and Lion trade.Done 159 visits to National Parks.What a wonderful privilege.

We visited Addo for the first time over this past weekend. We are regular visiters to Kruger...

I noticed a few differerances between the Addo elephants and the Kruger elephants. Maybe someone can give me some answers...1. we had an amazing sighting of elephants at the one dam. that is when i realized that the elephants do not really have tusks. some bulls have, but not that big at all when i compare it to the kruger elephants? the cows had no tusks. why will that be?2. there was a bull in must. knowing how the bulls are during must, we stayed as far as possible. but this bull wasn't aggressive at all. he went about smelling the cows, making a few trumpeting sounds but that was that. there was absolutely no agression?? i am use to the Kruger elephants, and that can get a bit scary at times. We drove round the one corner. a cow and her calf was busy eating right next to the road. the cow crossed the road and the calf stayed on the other side by itself for quite a while, before crossing. usually they stick to one another like glue??

Can someone please tell me why there is such a difference between the Addo elephants and the Kruger elephants?

There has NEVER been any culling in Addo, so the elephants have no hangups about humans since they were gradually habituated to vehicles by Dr Anthony Hall-Martin and his wife a few decades ago!

The tusks -- most cows with tusks were shot out at the beginning of the 20th century, so the genes for tuskless elephant cows have been passed on -- hopefully the new Kruger bulls will rectify that problem.

In Addo you can have calves touch your vehicle, with nothing major happening at all!